Long-time Leader, Yoweri Museveni has been re-elected as Uganda president.
The 76-year-old won with 5.85 million votes, or 58.64 percent, of the total votes cast.
Main opposition candidate, a pop-star cum politician, Bobi Wine, won 3.48 million votes or 34.83 percent.
Uganda’s Electoral Commission announces the elections results in a televised news conference on Saturday.
According to the Commission, voter turnout was 52 percent.
But Bobi Wine, known in private life as Robert Kyagulanyi, has alleged that the elections were fraudulent, calling on Ugandans to reject the results.
Bobi Wine’s Representative, Benjamin Katana, in a report on Aljazeera by DGN Online, said the announcement of the election results was “an attempt to undermine the will of the people in Uganda”.
According to him, “The legal framework in Uganda gives us a number of opportunities and options to which we can contest this unfair process and going through the Supreme Court is one of the options.”
He added that “We ask the people of Uganda to stand firm and work with us to explore all the options … to make sure that we stop this coup.”
Violence, Internet Blockade
Throughout the voting process and counting of the ballots, the Government of Uganda was alleged to have blocked internet across the country.
It would be recalled that Bobi Wine,reported that his phone and that of his wife had been ‘blocked”, noting that he was unable to make or receive calls.
“I know this is to stop me from communicating to our agents and coordinators,” Wine wrote on Twitter prior to the commencement of the vote counting process.
Over 18 million Ugandans reportedly registered to vote in the January 14, 2021 presidential and parliamentary elections.
For the presidential race, a candidate was required to win over 50 percent of valid votes to avoid a runoff vote.
Multiple Ugandan and international media reports monitored had indicated earlier that the voting process was tense.
Mr Wine is a pop star-turned-opposition leader and has the support of the mass of Ugandan youth, according to reports.
Violence heralding this year’s elections in Uganda reportedly led to security forces killing about 50 people.
There had been reported crackdowns on opposition supporters and candidates, with Mr Wine’s wife believed to have been harassed and stripped naked by police.
Reports said there were fears of unrest due to alleged attempts by security forces to stop Bobi Wine’s supporters from monitoring polling stations, especially during the votes counting phase.
Museveni has been in power since 1986.
By Prince Fiifi Yorke